Taxi e-hail apps officially legal in NYC, pilot program proceeds

Samantha Shankman, Skift

- Jun 06, 2013 9:21 am

Skift Take

The court’s decision marks the beginning of a long process before e-hail apps are permanent part of city transportation; however, Bloomberg is now only a uniform taxi fleet away from bringing his taxi vision to fruition in NYC.

— Samantha Shankman

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Taxi e-hail apps are officially legal in New York City.

The temporary restraining order (TRO), which blocked the city’s controversial pilot program the day after its launch, was lifted this morning by the New York State Supreme Court.

The one-year pilot program is expected to move forward. Hailo and Uber were the only e-hail providers to be approved when the program initially launched in May.

TLC spokesperson Allan Fromberg clarified in an email to Skift: “We won it….all the way!”

Hailo sent out a statement within an hour of the court’s decision with the following message:

We won, hands down! Hailo and the TLC banded together, standing shoulder to shoulder in court, to ensure that the future stays on the streets and New York’s riding public and Yellow Taxi drivers will continue to enjoy the latest taxi technology. During our 12-month partnership with the City of New York, Hailo and NYC consistently maintained e-hailing and e-payment were inevitable and went to court together to make sure that New Yorkers didn’t have to wait any longer.

Hailo and Uber continued to operate for the past month, although the legality of the services was hazy at best.

Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky is holding an event at 1 pm at City Hall to discuss the e-hail app program and the five-borough taxi plan.